AP Psych Unit 0 Vocab

critical thinking - thinking that does not blindly accept arguments/conclusions; it reveals biases, sketchy sources and checks evidence

structuralism (Wundt and Titchener) - used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind

humanistic psychology - historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of humans

Cognitive Psychology - the study of mental processes that occur when we perceive, learn, remember, think and communicate

Psychology - the science of behavior and mental processes

Nature:Nurture Issue - the controversy over the contributions of biology (genes) and experience and how they affect the development of psychological traits and behaviors

evolutionary psychology - study of evolution of behavior and the mind, using natural selection

biopsychosocial approach - approach that includes biological, psychological and social cultural view points

behavioral psychology - study of observable behavior, and its explanation by principles of learning

Functionalism - mental life and behavior in terms of adaptation to environmental challenges and opportunities

biological psychology - study of the links between biological and psychological processes

Psychoanalytic - early school of psych that emphasizes importance of unconscious causes for behavior

Sociocultural Psychology - examines the ways in which social and cultural environments influence behaviors

clinical psychology - branch that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders

psychaitrist - physician who specializes in diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders and can prescribe medication/therapy

hindsight bias - tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it, "I knew it all along"

theory - explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events

Hypothesis - A testable prediction, often implied by a theory

operational definition - carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in a research study

replication - repeating the main idea of a research study with different situations to see if the original finding can be reproduced

case study - technique in which one person is studied in great detail to hopefully reveal universal priciples

naturalistic observation - observing natural situations without manipulation

survey - obtaining attitudes/behaviors of a particular group by a questioning representative

sampling bias - a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

Population - the people who are the focus of research

random sample - a sample that fairly represents a population because all are equally included

correlation - A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other

correlation coefficient - a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1)

Scatterplot - a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables; slope = relationship, scatter = strength

illusionary correlation - the perception of a relationship where none exists

experiment - research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior/mental process

experimental group - the group exposed to the treatment

control group - the group that does not receive the treatment

random assignment - assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, minimizing differences between groups

doubleblind procedure - both the participants and the staff are ignorant about whether the participants have received the treatment or a placebo

placebo effect - experimental results caused by expectations alone

indepent variable - The experimental factor that is manipulated; whose effect is being studied

confounding variable - a factor other than the factor being studied that might influence a study's results

dependent variable - the outcome that is measured / variable that may change when independent variable is manipulated

informed consent - giving participants enough info about a study to enable to choose if they want to participate

debriefing - the post-experimental explanation of a study (including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants)

mean - the average of a distribution

median - The middle number in a set that are listed in order

mode - most frequently occurring score